Uber shifts into Mid-Market headquarters

Updated 8:28 am, Monday, June 2, 2014

Uber employees work away from their desks at their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber employees work away from their desks at their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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The game room is tucked into a small space near the kitchen.

The game room is tucked into a small space near the kitchen.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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A map of where Uber operates is displayed on a board at the company's new 88,000-square-foot office space in the Mid-Market area of San Francisco.

A map of where Uber operates is displayed on a board at the company's new 88,000-square-foot office space in the Mid-Market area of San Francisco.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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An Uber employee sits in a bean bag in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

An Uber employee sits in a bean bag in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber employees meet in a room in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber employees meet in a room in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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An Uber employee works from a bean bag at the company's new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

An Uber employee works from a bean bag at the company's new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber's office features two large touch screens in a meeting room at their new location on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber's office features two large touch screens in a meeting room at their new location on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber's new office on Market St. features smaller meeting places in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber's new office on Market St. features smaller meeting places in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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A grid of San Francisco is seen on Uber's floor at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

A grid of San Francisco is seen on Uber's floor at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Head of Communications Lane Kasselman at Uber works a touch screen in their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Head of Communications Lane Kasselman at Uber works a touch screen in their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber's new office is located on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber's new office is located on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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An employee walks into Uber's new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

An employee walks into Uber's new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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A leather wall with a map of San Francisco is seen at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

A leather wall with a map of San Francisco is seen at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber's new office on Market St. features open meeting places in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber's new office on Market St. features open meeting places in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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An Uber employee works in a cubby in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

An Uber employee works in a cubby in their new office in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber employees are seen through privacy glass in their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Uber employees are seen through privacy glass in their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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An Uber employee sits in a meeting room at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

An Uber employee sits in a meeting room at their new office on Market St. in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 30, 2014. This is Uber's seventh move.

Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle

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Uber shifts into Mid-Market headquarters

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Uber's new headquarters looks a little like the man cave of a tasteful bachelor: tufted black leather sofas, dark wood, metal, poured concrete and a few nice house plants for good measure. It is, in other words, what you might expect from a company that's goal is to make the average person feel like "a frickin' pimp," as CEO Travis Kalanick once put it.

The ride-service giant left its Financial District space last month to move to 1455 Market St., the burgeoning tech corridor of Mid-Market. It's now the second tech tenant in the building - the payments and commerce startup Square has several floors. Twitter and One Kings Lane share a building down the block, near Zendesk and Yammer. San Francisco stalwart Dolby will soon move employees from its three South of Market buildings to one at Ninth and Market streets.

Uber's new 88,000-square-foot space has enough room for about 600 employees - with a lease on an additional 132,000-square-foot space ready to go. The company, reportedly valued at $10 billion, is planning to grow like crazy. (Uber's move was not tied to any tax incentive, such as the ones Twitter and several other Mid-Market companies received.)

The office, said Nairi Hourdajian, an Uber spokeswoman showing off the space, was designed to be reflective of the company's culture. Seating is open (and therefore, the theory goes, collaborative), with maps of some of the 118 cities Uber serves etched into wall panels and displayed in artsy video installations.

A quarter-mile track that snakes around the office - "the path" - is intended for "walk and talks."

Most walls serve as whiteboards. Employees have added personal flourishes - doodles on the walls, a neon New Belgium Brewing Ranger IPA sign, a replica of a dinosaur skull.

In one room, dubbed the "war room," the touch of a button automatically turns clear glass walls opaque, for privacy. The room features a long "living edge" wood table made from a single tree, two huge touch-screen panels and a pair of authentic midcentury Eames lounge chairs.

The elevator bank feels a little like a nightclub. The dining room vibe is more bar than cafeteria. At many tech offices, the game room is prominent. Not so at Uber, where it is tucked into a small space near the kitchen. Overall, it's more luxe Wall Street than playful Silicon Valley.

Hourdajian pointed to pricey copper trim that frames one meeting room and the inexpensive opaque plastic that divides another.

"The space is meant to be very Uber," she said. "A vision of delivering as much value at every price point."

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